Polish mayor Pawel Adamowicz dies after being stabbed in heart on stage at charity music event

Pawel Adamowicz was attacked around 8pm local time on Sunday during the fundraising event in Gdansk organised by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.

Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski said the Gdank mayor was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

He called the stabbing "an act of inexplicable barbarity." A suspect was arrested at the scene.

Shocking footage  shows the suspect running across the stage to attack the mayor before returning to the centre of the stage.

The suspect then grabs the microphone and – according to local media – tells the crowd: "Hello, hello! My name is Stefan. I sat innocent in prison. The Civic Platform tortured me."

It's reported the mayor was seen holding his stomach following the stabbing.

Local media said paramedics were on the scene immediately and worked on the mayor before taking him to hospital.

European Council President Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who co-founded Civil Platform and is from Gdansk, wrote on Twitter: "Let's all pray for Mayor Adamowicz. Pawel, we are with you."

Mayor Adamowicz previously belonged to the Civic Platform party.

Adamowicz has been mayor of Gdansk since 1998. He was part of the democratic opposition born in that city under the leadership of Lech Walesa during the 1980s. In the 2018 regional election, he won 65 percent of votes.

As mayor, he is seen as a progressive voice and has supported LGBT rights and tolerance for minorities.

He showed solidarity with the Jewish community when the city's synagogue had its windows broken last year, strongly denouncing the vandalism.

President Andrzej Duda said that while he and the mayor have had political differences: "Today I am unconditionally with him and his loved ones, just as I hope all of us compatriots are. I pray for his return to health and full strength."

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